Our bodies won't let it happen, and there's nothing we can do to change that - except build a superpower telescope, of course. That's precisely why we'll never experience the pleasure of viewing a non-rainbow color. Though there's an infinite amount of light wavelengths, humans can only "see" one tiny part of the spectrum: The visible light region, which encapsulates the colors of the rainbow. This infographic illustrates the spectrum of electromagnetic energy, specifically highlighting the portions detected by NASA's Hubble, Spitzer, and Webb space telescopes. While admiring a fiery sunset, our eyes take in a bunch of longer, more relaxed red and yellow wavelengths.Īll these wavelengths are neatly organized on what's known as "the electromagnetic spectrum." But here's the issue. When we see a blue umbrella, for instance, our eyes pick up on tighter, blue wavelengths emanating from the waterproof material. It's because colors are nothing more than the products of light reflecting off some source.ĭifferent colors are dictated by different wavelengths of light, which you can imagine as curvy zigzags of various proportions. One that can't be described, the way "green" doesn't really have a definition beyond "the hue of a caterpillar," - or, if you're an objectivity fan, "a wavelength of 550 nanometers." After some thought, I'd bet you settled into the disturbing reality that you'll never know the answer. Why can't we see infrared light?Īt some point in your life, you might've wondered what it'd be like to see a new color. More specifically, a bit of a conundrum that it poses for us humans. NASA, ESA, and STScIīut before we get into the specifics of the JWST's infrared mechanics, we have to talk about the electromagnetic spectrum. On the left, is a standard optical version. These NASA Hubble Space Telescope images compare two diverse views of the roiling heart of a vast stellar nursery, known as the Lagoon Nebula. The JWST, on the other hand, is collecting deep space infrared light and decoding it for us. It's just that in our shadowy dark zone analogy, we're viewing extra stars because we're uninhibited by light pollution. There'd be a myriad more sparkles in both cases, even though you're viewing the same sky. Looking through the JWST lens instead of a standard optical telescope would be like looking up at the stars from my hypothetical New York dark zone instead of Times Square.
This is why the JWST is often said to hold the promise of unveiling an "unfiltered universe." Its holy grail device is called the Near Infrared Camera, or Nircam, and will lead the charge by collecting a wealth of deep space infrared signals for astronomers to view on the ground. The trailblazing telescope is a gold-plated, $10 billion machine stuffed with infrared detectors, accented with high-tech lenses and programmed with ultrapowerful software. The infrared picture is from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, and the visible image is from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. This image composite compares infrared and visible views of the famous Orion nebula and its surrounding cloud. We do it "with our minds and our machines." And, sure enough, over the years, astronomers have developed fascinating infrared workarounds - ultimately paving the way for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. Fortunately, however, that doesn't mean they're beyond us.Īs Stephen Hawking once remarked, humans are unique in that we always find a way to transcend our mortal limits. Thus, quite a lot of space treasures are invisible to us. It's just our human eyes aren't built to see the light they emanate. There are billions upon billions (upon billions) more cosmic phenomena out there. You physically can't spot all the galaxies, nebulae, exoplanets, quasars - I could go on - in your line of vision, even with your favorite off-the-shelf optical telescope. A breathtaking canopy of sparkles hangs over you, whether you like it or not.īut even from the deepest, darkest, most remote location, you will never see every star with your naked eye.
Out there, stargazing no longer requires any effort. You're better off taking the train a hundred or so miles upstate. To catch even the faintest glimpse of one, you'd have to squint past fluorescent street lamps, flashing billboards, stock market tickers and other illuminated distractions. As a New Yorker, I'd say trying to spot a star from Times Square is little more than a fool's errand.